500 More Added to the Homeless 8,900+ Crises Number Soon

The CBC has learned that 500 more Torontonians may be added to the 8,900+ currently homeless crises number due to hotel shelter being sold to a private developer.

The potential sale from the current owners, Virk Hospitality, to the Sunray Group for $20.5 million, is set to close later this month.

While it's unclear when those living at the hotel will be moved, it could spell trouble for some of the city's most vulnerable people, as well as Toronto's already over-burdened shelter system, according to advocates for the homeless.

"I can't even fathom what they'll do with an extra 500 people," said Greg Cook, a shelter outreach co-ordinator at the Sanctuary shelter.

"We've been saying to city hall, we've been saying to the federal government, that this is a crisis."

Neither government appears to be listening, he added.

Since 2017, the city has spent more than $5 million to shelter and feed people at the Toronto Plaza Hotel, located near the intersection of Wilson Avenue and Highway 400. The 500 residents, including families, have been living in 199 rooms at the facility.